This blog follows the progress of Milo & Madeline Stiles, born in June 2008 at 25 weeks, 2 days gestation, for their friends and family and anyone else who'd like to know about life with premature kids.
Please visit http://www.altabatessummit.org/nicuedu/fac.html and consider making a donation to assist NICU families at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Testing 1, 2, 3. . . Test . . . Test . . . Test

Stiles Family Calendar - April 2011

Notice all those crazy scribbles? All that writing represents the 10+ appointments and evaluations the kids have scheduled this month, not including the twice weekly visits from the developmental specialist. Since the kids are approaching 3, soon they'll transition to the local school district. That means a barrage of assessments... How unusual, eh? We figured the school district would want to observe the kids, but M&M are basically getting the full work-up, from withers to brisket. It's a scheduling nightmare, but the upshot we should have a really good idea of where the kids are at relative to other kids their age. We won't have the comprehensive results until the end of the month, but we at least got some good news about Milo today. He had a follow-up check on his hearing and it turns out he's hearing just fine. This was good news. Back in December, Milo had to have ear tubes inserted and a lot of heavy fluid removed from his ear canals. Since then he seems to be hearing much better, but sometimes it's tough to tell. The little guy definitely picks and chooses what he wants to acknowledge. I can whisper "cookie" two rooms away and he comes running. I can stand over him and ask him to put his shoes away, and he doesn't even turn his head. We figured that was going to happen eventually, but figured it was at least a few years a away. I blame the Wiggles.

Maddy, Milo, & Ella

In other news, we had a great time hosting our friends from back east - Jeff, Laura, and their daughter Ella. Ella assumed instant idol status with Maddy, and Maddy still says "Go see Ella?" at least every few days.

Milo & Jeff

Milo hanging out in his favorite place in the world, the front seat of my car. The little guy can easily kill an hour playing in the car. The tough part is trying to get him out before he's ready. That usually involves a fairly nasty tantrum -- something else that will hopefully pass with time.

Milo & Ella - Oakland Zoo - March 2011

I told the designer over an over, it ends in "y" not "ie." Maddy - March 2011

Maddy & Mom - Oakland Zoo - March 2011

Maddy loves the merry-go-round, so much in fact that she was able to happily tolerate the completely overwhelming skunk that took up residence under the ride. Every time the merry-go-round started, the skunk would scent. It was unbearable to all the adults -- several of whom nearly got sick. The kids didn't seem to care though. The video is below.

Good times!

Enjoying a snack at Little Farm in Berkley - March 2011.

Maddy rocks her new shades at Little Farm.

Daddy & Maddy - Little Farm - April 2011

Milo's favorite toy - his guitar. Whenever we're at home, he's usually carrying it around and pretending to be Cowboy Jared, the singing cowboy who visits their daycare every Thursday. Though he's a huge fan of Cowboy Jared, Milo's approach to guitar showmanship is much more in line with Jimi Hendrix. I've had to re-glue the poor thing at least a half-dozen times. I expect one day I'll walk into the living room and see him squirting lighter fluid on it.

See what I mean?

Maddy's favorite things? Basketball and wearing big shoes. That and she also loves macaroni cheese, Cowboy Jared (yes, her too), and other little girls who are her age or a bit older.

The kids have actually surprised us quite a bit with how much they love music. They basically want a stereo on at all times, and they have a pretty broad range of taste. They like kids tunes, rock, country, classical, and the recently developed a taste for reggae.

The little girl also loves her hats. Maddy hanging out in the backyard - April 2011.

Our latest visitors, our good friends Jenny, Matt, & their son Nathan came for a visit in early April all the way from England.

Nathan & Milo playing at Tilden Park (Little Farm) - April 3, 2011.

Jenny, Nathan, & Milo playing on the stairs at Tilden. Milo's other favorite thing - walking up and down stairs repeatedly. That and funny noises...

Matt entertains the kids with a few blades a grass and a good strong breath.

M&M enjoying the first warm day of the year in the backyard pool. April 4, 2011

Mommy & the kids - USCG Sector San Francisco - March 2011

This is Elaine early in the morning, eating a banana, before getting a chance to get cleaned up. I took the picture to harass her a little and thought I really ought to add it to the blog for posterity. :) See you next time!

1 comment:

Don't know if you remember me, Christine, I was with the babies their first few days of life. One of the RNs posted the link to this blog so, of course, I wanted to see how your kids (wow, they're now kids!) were doing. They look absolutely fabulous and seem to be doing so well-- I am thrilled for you! I know we all did our best to provide great care for them, but it is those devoted parents that are always there, always advocating, that aid in these kind of outcomes-- bravo!! And, yes, Rob is very funny! I laughed out loud at much of your posting!Happy 3rd Birthday, Milo and Maddie! Many, many more......Nurse Christine